All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday slammed the Centre for abstaining from voting at the United Nations on a resolution that called for a truce and protection of civilian lives in Palestine. Owaisi said India’s action was "shocking", especially in light of the more than 7,000 Palestinians who lost their lives in attacks by Israel on the Gaza strip.
"Over 3,000 of the dead are children and 1,700 victims are women," Owaisi said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). India was following an "inconsistent foreign policy" on Palestine, he said.
Questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the claims that he was now a ‘Viswaguru’, or leader of the world, he said:
"After sending aid to Gaza, why abstain? What happened to ‘one world one family’ and ‘Viswaguru’? Modi condemned the Hamas attack but couldn’t agree to a UN resolution seeking a truce. He spoke to the Jordanian king a few days ago, but abstained on a resolution that was introduced by Jordan."
Owaisi added that even during times of peace, people from Gaza face complete blockades and depend on humanitarian aid and things have only worsened since the war began. "This is a humanitarian issue, not a political one. In abstaining on the resolution, India stands alone in the global South, in South Asia and in BRICS. Why did India abstain on an issue concerning civilian life?" Owaisi asked.